Inside the maelstrom of Beatlemania

The Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm exhibit at the AGO is well worth seeing when it opens to the general public on March 24.

Organized by the National Portrait Gallery in London, with curation by the AGO’s Jim Shedden, the collection of 250 photographs from Paul McCartney’s personal archive gives a candid, insider’s view into the dizzying maelstrom that was the early years of Beatlemania in 1963 and then in '64, when they first landed on North American shores. 

The photographs of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and others, were all taken by McCartney on his Pentax camera, while shots of Paul himself were snapped by members of the Beatles entourage, like one above of him reading the Toronto Star en route to Montreal.

The images, mostly black and white, are moody and intimate, although the colour photos taken in Miami Beach have a strikingly vivid power all of their own. 

There are also video clips and various archival materials, including some cool Toronto-specific items. An entire exhibit could be devoted to the impact the Beatles had on Toronto alone, with their three consecutive visits here in 1964, ‘65 and ‘66.

Taken as a whole, the exhibit offers a dazzling glimpse into the world of accelerated superstardom, in a time long before cellphones, TikTok and Instagram. 

Just when I thought I’d seen every shot imaginable of the Fab Four, McCartney’s treasure trove arrives to provide new insights and surprises about the greatest band of all time.